Tuesday, January 24, 2012

$4.7 Million Fortune Given Away




Read: Proverbs 4:14-27
"Keep your heart with all diligence . . . . Ponder the path of your feet". —Proverbs 4:23,26

A 47-year-old Austrian man gave away his entire $4.7 million fortune after concluding that his wealth and lavish spending were keeping him from real life and happiness. Karl Rabeder told the Daily Telegraph (London), “I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things I did not wish for or need. It was the biggest shock in my life when I realized how horrible, soulless, and without feeling the ‘five-star’ lifestyle is.” His money now funds charities he set up to help people in Latin America.
Proverbs 4 urges us to consider carefully our own road in life. The passage contrasts the free, unhindered path of the just with the dark, confused way of the wicked (v.19). “Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live” (v.4). “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (v.23). “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established” (v.26). Each verse encourages us to evaluate where we are in life.
No one wants to go through life on a selfish, heartless road. But it can happen unless we consider where we are going in life and ask the Lord for His direction. May He give us grace today to embrace His Word and follow Him with all our hearts. 
If we pursue mere earthly gain,
We choose a path that ends in pain;
But joy remains within the soul
When we pursue a heavenly goal. —D. De Haan 
You are headed in the right direction when you walk with God.

Verse of the day
If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

James 1:5
New International Version
 

THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY'S VERSE...
Wisdom is that illusive quality we respect in others and find so difficult to develop in ourselves. Yet God promises it to those who really ask. But remember the secret of ASKing -- asking, seeking, and knocking. Or better yet, check out Proverbs 2. Wisdom is ours only if we seek it above all other possessions and value it above all other diversions. God longs to impart it, but there is something about wisdom that demands we value it before we can receive it. 


MY PRAYER...
Gracious giver of all good gifts, please bless me with wisdom today. Let me reflect your will and live for your glory in all my decisions. Let your Kingdom guide my heart as I make my choices and have your Spirit lead me in your ways. I confess, Father, that I cannot guide my own steps without your help. So grant me wisdom this day. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. 


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